NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Boston Richardson Your Buddy: Tammy Do

Select any evidence-based intervention/recommendation to follow (do this over 8 weeks):

 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before and after a work or school day
 Practice mindfulness meditation for at least 10 minutes everyday
 Complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, such as biking under 9
mph, dancing, jogging, or playing tennis; or complete 60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week,
such as running, kickboxing, or jumping rope.
 Participate in two professionally led yoga classes for one hour or longer per week
 Spend up to 2 hours in nature or longer per week
 Other (Must get your Clinical Faculty approval first, and activity should be up to 2 hrs or longer
per week)

Complete Weekly journal entries:

Week 1 Description of intervention implemented this week: (Include frequency/length of time)
(2/7/21- I began implementing the self-care evidence-based intervention of spending up to 2 hours or longer
2-13/21) in nature this week. The weather outside has been beautiful, helping motivate me to construct this
modality over the next 8 weeks. On the 4 days I had off this week, I made sure to sit in my back yard
and do school work. I did this for about 2 hours each day during the evening time.
Comments on Activity:
Being out in nature is so easy and my favorite thing to do. I began this self-care goal because of the
lack of time I have been finding myself awake during the best hours of the day due to my
preceptorship being on night shifts. It was hard this week because of how long I find myself sleeping
during the day and how little sunlight I witness. Although by setting this goal I have found myself
more productive and happy experiencing nature into my day when I am able to.
Week 2 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
(2/14/21 I continued to sit on my back patio while doing school work 4 days of the week, each day for a
- length of about 2 hours. In addition, I went on a walk around the neighborhood with my neighbor at
2/20/21) the end of the week which was roughly an hour in duration.
Comments on Activity:
Sitting outside this week was more feasible not only because of the weather getting nicer but also
because I finally got a patio table with chairs. Previously, I was implementing this self-care tactic by
using an outdoor portable chair. Doing school work was more comfortable and enjoyable with a
table to put my materials down on. Due to my preceptorship ending this week, it was also easier to
sit outside given my ability to utilize more of the day light and warmer weather while doing so.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note key comments from conversation)
Tammy chose to set a self-care goal of sleeping for at least 7 hours each night. She is utilizing this
evidence-based practice to improve her energy and daily routine seeing that she is a “night owl” and
often will not go to bed until around 0300. This leads to her not waking up until 1000 or 1100 when
possible, thus wasting the majority of her day on being in bed. Although the transition was hard, it
has been going great for her as she stated “I am slowly becoming a regular person again”.
Week 3 Description of intervention implemented this week: (Include frequency/length of time)
(2/21/21 This week I chose to switch up the evidence-based self-care intervention I journal about. I found
- myself baking and cooking new paleo recipes for dinners throughout the week with friends. A few of

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 2/27/21) my friends I made delicious and healthy shrimp tacos one day with a prep time of about an hour. I
also made meatballs, which I have never cooked before, with my roommate that took us about 30
minutes to prepare. In addition, my roommate and I made paleo banana bread for a desert and
breakfast throughout the week. Since we finished the meatballs early, we decided to bake something,
taking us an hour and 30 minutes to do with prep time for the bread.
Comments on Activity:
Not only do I find being in nature to be therapeutic, but I also find joy and a self-care component in
cooking and baking around my diet. I enjoy eating new foods all while I have a passion for preparing
them. Since I was able to use this mechanic multiple times this week with friends, I am choosing to
journal on how happy it made me feel and how I hope to continue to do this in the future based on
the joy took from it this week.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note key comments from conversation)
Tammy claimed that since we had the week without a clinical rotation and pretty much an open
schedule, she slept for more than 7 hours which was therapeutic for her. With that though, she did
not implement it along the lines of her self-care focus in doing so at night. Stating the sleep not being
at “normal times”. She hopes that the upcoming community health rotation with put her back on
schedule in terms of getting a full nights rest.
Week 4 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
(2/28/21 Keeping everything I have done to incorporate at least 2 hours of my time in nature by doing
- 3/6/21) assignments and schoolwork outside, I also made it a point to go on a hike by myself this week. I
hiked Tumamoc Hill that took me 2 hours. This is including water and nature acknowledgement
breaks.
Comments on Activity:
After this week, I have really started to feel connected to the earth and its nature aspects,
something aside from sitting in front of a screen for countless hours. I also wanted to find a way to
incorporate my exercise routine into my self-care implementation. Considering the nice weather
during the day I went for a hike and although it is a difficult incline, I enjoyed my time being outside
and felt great after the workout.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note key comments from conversation)
This week was hard for Tammy to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep before class and clinical. She
states this was due to her having minimal amounts of motivation due to everything being online.
However, she started a new job recently and claims that she has had the motivation to get at least 6
hours of sleep prior to each shift. She feels better physically when she gets enough sleep and plans to
continue and improve this goal of hers seeing the way it makes her feel.
Week 5 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
(3/7/21- This week my friends and I went on a camping trip with tents at the peak of the elephant head trail.
3/13/21) It consisted of myself and six others. We drove two cars up mid-day on Saturday around 12:45 and
came back Sunday afternoon around 4:30. This event allowed me to accomplish my self-care goal of
the week in addition to also spending time with my friends, which is also a self-care modality of
mine.
Comments on Activity:
I love hanging out and doing things with this group of friends because we all have similar hobbies
and interests, one being our passion for doing activities outside and being in nature. We all agreed
that we didn’t want to rely on any means of social media or electronics to have a good weekend.
Although it was cold at night, we had a fire going and managed to keep warm in our tents with tons
of blankets and body heat. I was able to bring my bow and arrows to practice my target shooting that
I hadn’t done in a while.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note key comments from conversation)
Tammy acknowledged that sleep came quicker and easier for her this week. As she has been taking
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 melatonin during previous weeks to help her get at least 7 hours of sleep at night, she did not need to
take any this week to help her fall asleep. She thanked the fact that she has been busier during the
day from working and going to clinical, therefore helping her go to bed early. It was easily apparent
that she has been sleeping at least 6-7 hours throughout the night and before work shifts and clinical
days. Tammy stated “my goal is to make this an everyday thing moving forward”.
Week 6 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
(3/14/21 I played out my evidence-based self-care intervention goal this week by going with my neighbor to
- the botanical gardens. I had been wanting to go ever since I moved to Tucson years ago and was
3/21/21) happy to finally have gone. We spent 2 hours, from 0830-1030 walking around and learning lots of
facts about plants, especially those native to Tucson.
Comments on Activity:
Growing up an hour and a half away from Tucson, I always dreamt of going to the botanical
gardens some day after seeing others go and hearing about how intriguing everything is there. I
enjoyed seeing how green it was and took lots of pictures. I was slightly disappointed that the
butterfly sanctuary was closed due to COVID, but was still everything I had expected.
Buddy Check-In Comments (Note key comments from conversation):
Tammy successfully slept 6-7 hours per night this week. She noted that she took a nap today,
3/20/21, since there is no school, work, or clinical tomorrow. She also acknowledged that this may
mess up her future day/night sleep schedule but feels that she deserves it seeing how busy she has
been and how well she has been doing with implementing her weekly self-care goal.
Week 7 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
(3/22/21 On Sunday, I fulfilled my goal of spending at least 2 hours in nature per week. Two of my friends
- and I hiked Linda Vista Trail starting at the beginning point of the trail and ending where we began.
3/28/21) We started the hike at 0900 and got back to our car at 1300, spending 4 hours exercising in nature.
Comments on Activity:
It was a beautiful day to implement this activity, not too cold or too warm outside. We were not the
only ones that had this idea seeing that there were many other hikers taking in the beauty of nature
and a wonderful piece of Tucson’s mountain range, Mount Lemmon. We were even privileged to see
a doe and a golfer snake.
Buddy Check-In Comments (Note key comments from conversation):
Tammy stated that she slept as much as she could this week, which was a lot. She is ahead on
schoolwork and has been going to bed earlier because she is often bored, which has helped in
implementing this week’s self-care goal. She napped during the day on 3/29/21 for roughly 30
minutes in which she claims to be a short nap. She intends to sleep as much as she can from here on
out.
Week 8 Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
For the last week of this activity, but definitely not the last week of personal journaling, I was able
to go home for Easter and implement my self-care modality in different ways. I helped out my mom
with her daily gardening schedule by watering, harvesting, and even helped her plant more cilantro
and a new strawberry plant. I was able to help her do this for about an hour under the beautiful
weather we were experiencing, given that Sierra Vista is generally a few degrees cooler than Tucson
on a given day. I also learned more about my brother’s methods for growing microgreens. This took
place for about 20 minutes each day I was there, so overall an hour. Additionally, I took advantage of
our pool and spend roughly 2 hours swimming and tanning.
Comments on Activity:
It was nice to go home since I hadn’t been able to do so in a while. I enjoyed spending time in
nature and with different pieces of it that are special, than I have been utilizing throughout the
previous weeks in Tucson. I am very thankful that I have a family with similar interests and points of
cherishment as me. There was not a better way I could have completed my 8-week goal of
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 implementing the evidence-based practice consisting of spending at least 2 hours in nature per week.
Complete Survey Below
(Once Completed submit entire document to D2L Assignment Drop box by Due date and add to
Your Portfolio.)

Reflection on Panopto presentation and 8-week intervention:

What did these activities teach you?
- Implementing these weekly activities for 8-weeks has taught me how much I enjoy being in
nature and doing things I love to do. I also learned that by carrying out what I love to do
though a means of a self-care tactic, I feel much better at the end of the day when I enforce a
method and enjoy reflecting on it by journaling at the end of the week.
Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?
- I, as well as my friends and family, have realized that I was happier and more energetic once
I started to incorporate more nature pieces into my daily and weekly routines. I also noticed
that I was more in-tune with my energy level and way of thinking as it showed to have a
slight change from the days where lengthy amounts of time were spent in nature to when I
would not empower myself to do something outside for 2 hours or more.
Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.
- I am definitely going to prioritize time for myself and what I love to do during weeks in the
future equally, if not more, than work or other daily tasks. I will also now share my
experience with others given that I have results from my overall reflection on how it went
and recommend they do the same or something similar.
Comments/suggestions: This was a great way for me to start transitioning my time away from
strictly focusing on school with minimal time spent for myself, to equal an equal amount or more of
self-care time and that spent working. I am honored to have been given this opportunity and learning
from it to aid in improving my practice and overall attitude for my future as a nurse.

Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with these statements:
Following an evidence-based recommendation to reduce burnout was valuable to me.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This 8-week intervention will help me implement preventative strategies for burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This Panopto presentation titled: “Nurse Burnout: What this is and how you can minimize it in your careers”
effectively taught me how I can reduce and address nurse burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

Completing the Big Five Personality Test was helpful for exploring my risk of nurse burnout.

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 Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

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